Two indicted in firebombing of synagogues plead ‘not guilty’

The two men accused in the arson and firebombing of several North Jersey synagogues pleaded not guilty Monday in Superior Court in Hackensack to indictments in the case.

Anthony Graziano of Lodi and Aakash Dalal of New Brunswick, both 21, were indicted in March on multiple counts of aggravated arson, conspiracy and bias intimidation.

Graziano also is charged with the attempted murder of a rabbi and his family, whose Rutherford home was attacked by Molotov cocktails in January 2012.

The attack was one of a series of mostly failed arsons and firebombings that left the local Jewish community on edge for weeks. Bergen County prosecutors said Graziano was the one who carried out the attacks, while Dalal encouraged and advised him through electronic communication, chastising him for failed attacks and praising him for successful ones.

Both men are being held at the Bergen County Jail — Graziano in lieu of $2.5 million bail and Dalal in lieu of $1.5 million. If convicted of the charges, they face a maximum of life in prison. Dalal also is facing a separate charge that he conspired last year from his jail cell to kill an assistant Bergen County prosecutor who was handling his case at the time.